DT 30543 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30543

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30,543
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ****Enjoyment ***

Good morning from Welwyn Garden City. I have no inside information on the identity of today’s setter, but I found the puzzle slightly trickier than a “normal” Thursday and the grid was not particularly user-friendly. Perhaps the setter will drop in and say hello? It was an enjoyable solve, however, with several original, humorous and often quirky ideas, which may not be to everyone’s taste. Time will tell. 19a was my LOI and it is not a word that I am familiar with. It also does not appear in the BRB or my on-line version of Chambers, but Mr Google came to the 2d.

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined and anagrams are CAPITALISED. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.

Across


8a Stray cat relaxed there in bishop’s seat (6,9)
EXETER CATHEDRAL: anagram (stray) of CAT RELAXED THERE.

9a A good way to work the land, mostly (3)
FAR: synonym of “work the land” without the final letter (mostly).

10a Console captain who makes a song and dance at ball game? (11)
CHEERLEADER: synonyms of console + captain are joined together to form a sporting ritual largely confined to America, thank goodness.

11a Wash surface around noon (5)
RINSE: synonym of surface (as in get out of bed) outside (around) abbreviation for noon.

12a Stick turned over by antelope on large plateau (9)
TABLELAND: synonym of stick (think sport) reversed (turned over) next to a South African antelope after (on) abbreviation for large. I think “turned over” and “on” here would work better in a down clue?

15a Prevarication by Senora Peron no one’s backing (7)
EVASION: Ms Peron’s given name + NO I’S reversed.

17a Animated Garfield needs no current warning symbol (3,4)
RED FLAG: anagram (animated) of GARFIELD without the single-letter abbreviation for current (which apparently is derived from “intensity”).

19a Loudly lamented work of art, something seen on the Fringe? (9)
SIDEPIECE: my last one in. Homophone (loudly) of a synonym of lamented + a word meaning “work of art”. According to Google, the definition can either mean a bit on the side of a carriage or just a bit on the side!

20a California sailors gathering island’s stones (5)
CAIRN: two-letter abbreviation for California + abbreviation for Royal Navy outside (gathering) abbreviation for island.

21a Here daughter unwound, or am I wrong? (7,4)
DRAWING ROOM: abbreviation for daughter + anagram (unwound) of OR AM I WRONG.

24a His Majesty finally calm and well now (3)
HMM: abbreviation for His Majesty + last letter (finally) of calm.

25a What’s in Amazon locker? Rare things (10,5)
COLLECTORS ITEMS: a double definition, the first being somewhat cryptic.

Down

1d Donations undermining court case? It makes pardon less likely! (7,3)
HEARING AID: synonym of donations after (undermining – this is a down clue) synonym of “court case”. A slightly cryptic/humorous definition. I love the definition!

2d Note small hint for free (6)
RESCUE: a musical note + abbreviation for small + synonym of hint. “For” is just a link word here, but “for free” is a bête noire of mine.

3d Receipt okay? (10)
ACCEPTANCE: double definition.

4d Second dollar lost by famous Liverpudlian celebrity (4)
STAR: nothing to do with Ringo! Abbreviation for second + the American slang for dollar missing from the name of a Liverpudlian comedian.

5d Admire Knight and Day, title of Sky pilot (8)
REVEREND: synonym of admire + abbreviations for knight (as in chess) and day. The definition is a slang word for a clergyman and we can ignore the capitalisation of Sky.

6d Where this solution may appear grating (4)
GRID: double definition.

7d Blushing bride’s content to be led by fellow occasionally (6)
FLORID: content of bRIDe after (led by) the odd letters (occasionally) of FeLlOw

8d Lean on ref once, injured (7)
ENFORCE: anagram (injured) of REF ONCE.

13d Lighter meals – one could be on the house (10)
BARGEBOARD: synonym of lighter (think boats) + synonym of meals = a piece of timber (or more likely uPVC these days) forming the edge on the gable of a roof.

14d Crossing London exhausted, one getting off bus that runs till dawn? (3-7)
ALL-NIGHTER: synonym for someone getting off a train/bus etc outside (crossing) the first and last letters (exhausted) of LondoN. I don’t recall having seen “exhausted” used in this way before?

16d My claim to have found a partner is flawed (8)
IMPAIRED: double definition – the first being slightly cryptic.

18d Data on some weird chromosome sets (7)
GENOMES: synonym of data + anagram (weird) of SOME.

19d Lure duck briefly into view (6)
SEDUCE: our setter has generously given us duck – we just need to remove its tail (briefly) and put it inside a word meaning view.

20d Some characters in parliament I’m mocking over pledge (6)
COMMIT: a hidden word upside down clue (some characters in…..over). The answer is lurking upside down in words 4-6.

22d No pressure on friendly colleague (4)
ALLY: synonym of friendly without the abbreviation for pressure.

23d Opening fire at the rear, holding up gun (4)
GATE: last letter (at the rear) of firE underneath (holding up) a type of gun (slang – chiefly US).



Quickie Pun: BUST + IRK + ETON = BUSTER KEATON

159 comments on “DT 30543

  1. Don’t care what anybody says, this was a toughie, pure and simple.
    Took me absolutely ages, and I agonised over the last one, 13d, for about twenty
    minutes before I realised that I had the last three letters of the first part of
    25a wrong ( I had ‘ion’) and as soon as this blunder was discovered the last one fell into place immediately.
    Glad I stuck with it though, as I very nearly gave up with not a single answer after two initial read throughs.
    Is the setter AP? perhaps someone better at guessing might have a better idea than me.
    Friday’s offering can’t be any harder surely……..

    1. I too found it very difficult but thought it was because I am so tired! I could not have finished it without the hints.

    2. Some people find even the easiest puzzles too difficult?




  2. My only real problem was misparsing 14d, trying to get all in minus an i to begin it. Totally wrong but a fair mistake. That aside, I found this moderately testing but fairly clued. 5d was my favourite.

    My thanks to our setter for a good and entertaining challenge, and to Shabbo.

  3. 5*/2.5*. Parts of this were too much of a struggle for it to be very enjoyable. I was particularly held up by 13d, which took ages for the penny to drop, as well as 19a, which I have never heard of (and is not in the BRB as far as I can see). The “sky pilot” in 5d was also a new term for me.

    25a was my favourite.

    Thanks to the setter and to Shabbo.

  4. Hard work all the way through! I got 4d (but not by the much cleverer hint!)
    I liked 25a but took ages with 20a. I wouldn’t want this level of difficulty every day.
    Thanks to compiler!

  5. Quite tough but enjoyable I thought – thanks to the setter and Shabbo.
    There’s a different clue for 24a In the old online Puzzles site:
    Husband Mike finally calm and well now (3)

    My ticks went to 9a, 10a and 1d.

      1. I believe that’s almost certainly the reason, Falcon, especially given Chris Lancaster’s comment(s) in recent Puzzles Newsletters about editorial judgement being applied to clues.

    1. The only one I didn’t get was 24a with the different clue. For the first time in ages I did on the DT online as I’d not got a paper. Ive not looked any further down the comments so don’t know yet if it was disclosed who changed it. My guess is Mr Lancaster. It is a very easy one. I know that bargeboards are something on a house but spent ages looking for something like a cheese board!

    2. Yes I was somewhat confused by that too!! However husband Mike seems to work too!

  6. Slightly trickier! You ain’t kidding Shabbo. This took me longer than yesterday’s Toughie. Struggled from the off to get on wavelength but it was well worth the struggle as I thought it an excellent puzzle. Last in was 5d where I was well & truly suckered for some time by the misleading capitalisation (aware of but never seen the film) & the clerical slang was unfamiliar which didn’t help. 13d was new to me too. ✅s for 8,10,12&24a along with 1,5,14&16d with that last in 5d the pick of them.
    Thanks to the setter & to Shabbo.

  7. Well I enjoyed it despite having a few 24a’s
    4d was bunged in and I was asking myself if Freddy Starr was Liverpudlian (he was but not the right one!) and could dollar = r
    Thanks to Shabbo for being the shaft of light there
    The thought of a pusskit under the pews in 8a amused and earned my COTD
    Thanks to setter and Shabbo

    1. Same as you with 4d, bunged in Ringo’s surname minus an R, and wondered how Rs were dollars. Right answer, wrong approach!

  8. I’ve just gone 15 rounds with Joe Frazier. Tough, tough, tough.

    Saying that, two thirds of it was a breeze. So, it was just the last half dozen which put me through the mangle.

    I wouldn’t have parsed 4d and 14d in a squillion years (take a bow, Shabbo). I am amazed that there is a word for someone who gets off a bus. I biffed 13d, not having a clue. Well, there was a clue. The term ‘sky pilot’ for a person of the cloth is utterly brilliant.

    The above did drag the enjoyment down a tad which is a shame as there were some excellent clues: 8a (great anagram), 24a (random) and 1d.

    Many thanks to the setter and Shabbo.

    4*/3*

    1. Tom, 14d. An “alighter” (a real word?) is just someone who alights. You can alight from a bus, train, horse – all sorts of things. I have seen the word before.

  9. Honestly, I just didn’t enjoy this – I don’t mind when things are a little obscure but the word play is clever – I just thought this to be a slog with some obscure terms like 13d – not much to smile about although 1d was clever. Thanks to Shabbo though

  10. 5d’s the surface of the year, surely? I still can’t quite believe the definition is in Chambers. And I’m pretty sure it won’t please some but that is a clue. Definitely a step-up in terms of difficulty today and pretty quirky in places. 4d’s Scouser certainly took a while as he’s not exactly on top of my list! I do think 21a’s a tad odd and 25a promised more than it delivered. But it was hugely refreshing to see some (3)s and (4)s for a change. And 1d tickled me with its genius definition. This was a puzzle that really grew on me after initially thinking it was a bit of a swing and miss. Enjoyed it enormously. Many thanks to the setter and Shabbo.

  11. I really enjoyed this. Quite a challenge though; I only managed 6 on first pass but things started to crystallise once a few checkers went in. Wouldn’t have been out of place as a Tuesday Toughie.
    I particularly liked the cryptic definitions: 21a, 25a,1d, 16d and the lurker at 20d is a very topical surface.

    Thanks Shabbo and whoever set this entertaining puzzle.

    Shabbo – should 21a have the first 3 words underlined as a cryptic definition as well as forming part of the wordplay?

    1. I can see your point re the 21a theory, but I’ll stick my neck out and say that Shabbo’s got it right. Only about 80% sure, though.

      1. My thinking is that ‘Here’ on its own doesn’t really stand up as a definition for the answer. As these rooms were used for the the ladies to ‘withdraw’ to after dinner I think the other two words are needed to complete the clue.

    2. In 21a, if the first three words were the definition then the definition and wordplay would partially overlap which I don’t believe is permissible. The definition can be totally contained in the wordplay or the wordplay can be totally contained in the definition but they can’t partially overlap.

      I did try to make the entire clue be a cryptic definition of sorts. It would work spectacularly if unwind were an antonym of draw. Then this would not be a place to unwind but rather a place to do the opposite. However, I can’t make it work.

      1. I too was concerned about the middle of the clue doing “double duty”, hence I only underlined the first word. I think either approach will probably work, but am prepared to be corrected!

  12. This one took me some time, but it was time that I had and I did manage to solve it so I was happy.
    I did however have a few grumbles; The answer in 19a I am unconvinced is a word and think it should be two words – certainly my Collins does not know it as a single word.
    I missed the correct parsing for 4D so was uncomfortable despite the inevitable answer – Thanks to Shabbo I now see the route I should have taken (which was actually quite good) …
    5D is a totally new one to me and if it is slang then I don’t like it.
    13D I had to reach for the dictionary again and find there is a new definition for barge that I did not know.
    Despite all that needless whinging there was much here that I did like with 9 clues ticked and the top two being 1d (the less likely pardon) and 14d (the bus).
    Thanks to the mystery setter and to Shabbo

      1. ah, ok, sadly my dead tree version does not, it jumps straight from sidelong to sidereal. My Collins does however have one minor drawback and one major one; it is published in 1987 and it is the concise version… ho hum

        1. ditto my OED regarding sidelong to sidereal. (OED = also dead tree, also concise and this time published in 1972 when I was the princely age of 13 and had probably just gone to big school).
          Time methinks for me to move on and admit it is a legitimate clue even if my tools were not unto the job…!

          1. I have the Shorter OED 5th Edition, a comparative youngster published 2002! Bur alas, jumps from sideman through side-on to sider. Over to Mr Google 👍

  13. Thought this was somewhat random and not particularly enjoyable. Bright spots on the horizon for me were 14&19d.

    Thanks anyway to our compiler for his efforts and to Shabbo for a very creditable review.

  14. The first word of 15a is missing from the online version, didn’t make any difference as I was well beaten by then lol

  15. Brilliant! I found this a real pleasure to solve even though it took some time and I needéd electronic help with a couple, one of which was the wonderful misdirection at 13d. I would still have been looking for inspiration left to my own devices. I parsed 14d slightly differently seeing ‘one getting off'( anything) as an alighter and ‘bus that runs till dawn ‘ as the all- nighter. Favourite today was 1d. I also liked the anagram at 8a and the plateau at 12a. ( Serengeti did spring to mind!) Thanks to our setter and Shabbo for helping with the parsing of 4d.

      1. I think your parsing is spot on. Exhausted = emptied. But I’ll give it more thought – I’m prone to making rash assessments.

  16. It’s good to have an unusual challenge, so I enjoyed this.
    I was confused by a different clue for 24a on the digital version, so failed there. Ho hum.
    Didn’t understand the solution to 5d, but that has now been explained.
    And I really struggled with 13d until I saw saw the light(er).
    Thanks to setter and Shabbo.

  17. Phew! I will be interested to find out who was responsible for this Toughie in disguise but in the end I enjoyed the challenge. Took ages to better an initial single solution. 1d didn’t ring a bell perhaps because I was forbidden as a child to say “pardon” or what in that context! 13d needed some parsing thought. 24a = well now? Fav 10a. Thank you setter and Shabbo.

    1. If I said ‘can I have’ the answer would be ‘of course you CAN, but the question is ‘may you’. Mother knew best.

  18. Certainly chewy for a not-quite-the-end-of-the-week backpager, as YS notes above: “moderately testing”. Suspect this is not from one of the regular setters, or if it is a regular, then DKNY or Zandio, maybe? I felt some of the constructions were quite novel, and some of the references in the clues or answers suggested one of the more recent recruits to the setting team?

    Anyhow, about two-thirds written in on first pass, the remainder taking some while longer to tease apart until the last few fell in a rush. Not entirely convinced that stones = 20a without the stones being more defined; I would not equate lament with sigh, and cannot see that the BRB does so either, while an Amazon locker may be unfamiliar to many solvers.

    Ah well, notwithstanding the above I enjoyed the puzzle: it felt fresh, the surfaces were generally sound, the GK was all pretty basic (ie nothing was unknown to me at least) and there was a good balance of clues. Podium places to 1d, 5d (took a few minutes to remember that one from previous puzzles!) and 14d.

    3* / 3*

    Many thanks to the setter and to Shabbo

  19. A cracking Toughie-style Thursday puzzle. Great clues, some a bit quirky, provided a stiffish challenge and a very enjoyable tussle. I have ticked quite a few and will pick 5d as my favourite – a fine clue indeed! I have seen the slang term for a clergyman in cryptics quite a number of times, especially in 70s – 90s. 4*/4.5*.

    * My hearted sank when I eyed 19d. “Loudly” again as an homophone indicator at the beginning of a clue! But this time everything was OK. Phew!

    1. Can someone explain why ‘loudly’ is a homophone indicator. It seems a bit arbitrary — to me at least— although it has popped up now twice in a row?

  20. Puzzles like this really dent the confidence of a beginner and make me ask why I bother. No enjoyment to be had from this at all.

    1. Don’t get down about a puzzle like this. I found it a real grind, with half a dozen clues that were hard to interpret and would have been exceptionally difficult to solve without checkers and a certain amount of ‘what else can it be’… Keep persevering and it will come. A couple of years ago I would have had much the same reaction as you, but it does get so much easier with time and practice!

    2. Ciaran
      A year ago I would not have stood a chance with this one, with practice and use of all this site has to offer I have today finished with minimal help. It is well worth persisting and accepting that occasionally a puzzle like this will come along. One of the difficulties for me with today’s puzzle was the variation in how the clues were written which meant I could not get into a rhythm. When I first started I would often use the hints to give me a couple of the long clues and then see if I could get going.

      Looks like Calder Chris and I were replying at same time! Apologies for the overlap

      1. Thanks all, I’ll stick at it. Even in the few months I’ve been doing these I’ve noticed an improvement. In fact, last Saturday’s prize cryptic was just perfect for my level.
        If I find that a puzzle is beyond me, what I now do is use the “Reveal” button to fill in all the across clues and then try to fill in the downs using the plentiful letters already filled in.

        It’s just a bit of a let down when I’ve been looking forward to a new crossie to have to give up so early on. Oh well, crawl, then walk, then sprint I guess ;-)

        On the upside, the sun is out in NI, the neighbourhood is buzzing with lawnmowers and there’s definitely a hint of spring in the air. Just been for a walk with the dog and the fields have lambs bounding all over the place.

        1. Keep persevering, Ciaran.
          When I was first solving the DT in my teens, I would get about half of the clues and then study the ones I couldn’t get in the paper the following day.
          There was no blog back then, of course, and much more help is available now.
          As well as using the reveal button, why not have a look at the blogger’s hints if you are struggling? We try to steer people in the right direction without give the game away completely!

          1. Excellent point about the blog Shabbo. Quite often, one can get to the correct solution, but require one of our esteemed bloggers to explain it. That helps the learning process.

        2. I know how you feel when you look forward to a new one , and then you can’t get any traction – really dents the confidence. Sounds like you have a good method for progressing though and before you know it , this will be a distant memory. Cannot believe you have sunshine. It’s been rain all day here !

          1. It didn’t last long, we now have dark skies, wind, rain and a bit of sleet. Normality has returned.

    3. I too used to think like that but I persevered with the help of this blog. Having been doing this now for about 14 years I feel I’m just about able to cope with most of the backpagers, this one included. Strangely words just pop into ones head especially anagrams which I no longer feel the need to write out. I don’t use Chambers, just Google define. In some cases I cannot agree with Chambers as it seems that almost all words are synonyms of each other. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more as time goes on.

    4. You are going to bother because you know they are not all as hard as this and the satisfaction of finishing even one guzzle a week on you own is great. Keep going.

  21. Well looks as if I’m on a different wavelength again. I finished it without the hints, though very grateful for them to understand why on a couple of clues – thanks Shabbo. And I did enjoy it, so thanks to setter.

  22. Got a start but couldn’t make it to the end. Looks like I’m still just a *** solver.

    Enjoyed using the blog first for a hint and then the answer – just like in the old days!

  23. I must say I am finding the weeks RayT is absent, the puzzles seem a tad more difficult to suss my way through as of recent.
    A couple of terms I did not know as well as some parsing I could not reverse engineer. On top to that, the word split for 25a was wrong in the online version (11,5) and should be 10,5

    2.5*/3* for me today

    Favourites include 8a, 1d, 5d, 16d & 18d — with winner 8a

    Thanks to setter & Shabbo for hints/blog

  24. Found this decidedly tricky but finally finished. Several bung ins and will now read the hints to parse them. A couple of new words for me. Sorry didn’t enjoy this much. Thanks to all.

  25. Got a foothold, but that was about all. Definitely above my pay grade today. Thanks to Shabbo’s hints I’ve learnt some new words/terms. Hats off to him for getting to the answers and providing the hints. Thanks to the setter.

  26. Finally completed this tricky number, I nearly gave up but I did get there in the end. Several clues needed the hints to explain my answers as I had no idea why they were right eg 5d, 13d and 19a. There were some great clues with 1d my favourite and I also liked 25a once the penny dropped.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Shabbo for the essential hints and explanations.

  27. This was a “stinker” and more like a Friday’s offering. I completed it but like others I was struggling with some of the parsing.
    4d I couldn’t figure out how Ringo lost his second “r”, 19a answer not in BRB – setter should be “red carded”, 21a why is “here” defining drawing room apart from this particular room fits the grid and the rest of the clue, 25a the light eventually dawned as to the fact that Amazon warehouse dumps stuff into locker collection points … never used one never likely to either!
    On the plus side 5a sky pilot is an old one and 14d I recalled the “do not alight signs” on the old routemaster buses. COTD 13d as being of a nautical background what else could a lighter refer to!
    Thanks to Shabbo for the answers.

    1. Hi Big Eck (great alias)

      I think 21a works okay as one tended to unwind in this room, many moons ago…”Let’s withdraw to this room and sit soft” though the latter may be a modern term which I like to use.

      The question mark is the setter saying that this is one of a few rooms that the unwinding could take place. It’s another way of saying ‘e.g’.

      1. Tom,
        You are thinking much along the same lines I tried (see comment in thread @12). For me, it almost works but not quite. I keep thinking there is some key piece I am missing.

        1. A ‘side’ one, perhaps?

          We are all different, of course. but, when the setters come up with these sort of clues, I always give them a bit of latitude (not ‘bandwidth’ – hate that one).

          I am quite forgiving because they are such superstars. It’s like ‘boo meringue’ yesterday. Yes, maybe ‘loudly’ was misplaced (maybe not) but the surface was better. I didn’t fancy getting involved in that one.

          Don’t get me wrong though, I do like a forensic discussion or to split hairs….once in a while.

          Ahem

          1. Hi Tom,

            Thanks for replying .. not a great help to me though … never having the luxury of an abode with a “drawing room” … if I can paraphrase “Python’s Three Yorkshireshiremen” … we were lucky to ‘ave lavatory! … which I suppose can be well suited to pondering a crossword.

            1. Good shout.

              You have mentioned the gentlemen from God’s own Country and you have ‘Eck’ in your alias….are you a Yorkie, perchance?

              1. Sorry to disappoint you Tom but Eck is a Scottish contraction of Alexander .. but you are right about God’s own country … just another God perhaps!

            2. That’s nothin! Until I was 13, when I was sent to work down a coal mine, I had to live in a rotten tea chest underneath a hedge at the side of a flooded rubbish dump! :-)

              1. Make I ask the story behind your alias, Jose? I am guessing it has nowt to do with white roses.

                1. My name is Jose Torres and I was born and raised in a small village/enclave high up in the remote hills of Northern Derbyshire. Everybody here is Spanish – rather like the Welsh community that settled in Patagonia in 1865 and still exists there.

                  If you believe that, you’ll believe anything!

                  Actually, it comes from one of my heroes – Jose Raul Capablanca.

                  1. I’m so gullible 😂 Had me wondering if you’re related to the people who make those amazing Torres iberico ham crisps 🤤😋

                    Have you or Tom had a stab at the latest Nookie Corner yet?

                    1. Yes, did it on Monday eve – too late to comment really. It was excellent. 5.65% on the commentometer is very good. Do you have to score 0% before promotion is conferred?

                    2. Ah thanks Jose, much appreciated! Not worried about promotion really, just fun sending them in 👍

          2. I love a “forensic discussion” about clue structures, semantics, anything to do with cryptic crosswords. So, don’t hold back. Sometimes, there is no true, definitive answer and that gives us mere mortals something to waffle on about.

            1. I can’t get enough of them.

              I just need to pick my moment as a chat could last for yonks.

              1. This crossie has certainly yielded plenty of ‘forensic discussion’ which flags it as a good’un in my view as it adds to the enjoyment post-solve. I hope the setter pops in to explain/arbitrate.

                1. Tumbledown, or should that be Tumbleacross, does pop in occasionally. So, there’s a chance.

      2. Tom. I see 21a as a basic “cryptic clue” type – a definition at the start followed by some word-play that also leads to answer. “Here” is the place you get to after you’ve parsed the wordplay and also the place hinted at in the surface. I think the ? is there simply because the clue is presentd as a question.

        * Now, I suppose the setter will pop in to explain I’m wrong!

        1. Yep, you are probably right about the question mark. I do like the use of one for when the setter is asking you to let them off which is more than likely not the case here.

          I do like the clue.

  28. So many inventive and fun clues — thank you so much to the setter! (Twm?) I loved the short 24a (whether with His Majesty or Husband Mike), 1d’s pardon less likely, and 6d’s grating, among many others. More like this, please!

    I agree with others that this had a similar vibe to some Friday backpagers or Tuesday Toughies, but this felt easier than those to me ­— at least on the first pass, where I’d filled in an above-average number of solutions. I often find quirky puzzles like this suit me better than many Monday and Tuesday backpagers.

    Thank you to Shabbo for explaining what I needed to do with 16d’s claim to have found a partner, and the famous person (people?) in 4d. I didn’t know that either the pictured comedian nor his daughter the presenter were from Liverpool; I’ve heard her often enough on Radio 2, but never twigged.

      1. He was my thought when in my note above I referred to recent setters. However Twmbarlwm is generally very careful to make sure that any answer is supported by the dictionary, and 19a does not feature in the BRB – I don’t know whether it’s in the OED or Collins (I always regard the BRB as being superior to Collins, without any justification whatsoever!) but if this has been a Twm Production he may well be along later to respond to some of the comments.

        Edit: I see from a Falcon comment above that it’s in Collins. Which may excuse it for the setter, but not for the DT where I understand the requirement is that answers must be in the BRB.

  29. Like others, I found this difficult and needed to do a word search to find words that match the checkers for a couple of clues. To my shame, this included 1d (and I have them!).

    Shabbo,12a would not work as a down clue as the indicator “on” would then place the “antelope” before “large” rather than after “large”.

    Thanks to the setter for an enjoyable struggle and Shabbo for the hints (especially 4d where I was trying to parse the clue with the wrong Liverpudlian — off now to Google Liverpool comedians).

    1. interesting point Falcon though I must say I rather struggled with parsing 12a and the use of “on” in the clue as written. The nearest I could get was to put the returned stick next to the antelope and then put the whole lot on top of (on) the letter L somewhere. It didn’t feel awfully good but as the answer was not in dispute I accepted it…

  30. Tough, tougher, toughest. I didn’t know the alternative name for lighter but it had to be what it is. What a stretch for 4d ( although it was very good) Not sure about 21a , but again I liked the answer if not the question. 5d eluded me , the reference to a sky pilot totally threw me initially. I needed electronic help for this one. Last in.
    I finished but did I enjoy it? I think so in a masochistic kind of way. Favorite 1d closely followed by 25a
    Thanks to all

  31. Unfortunately it was not it was not only well above my pay grade but on a different page altogether where the only the cognoscenti are gathered. Managed about half
    a dozen before giving up.

    Someone above described themself as a beginner this sort of puzzle would deter. A reply suggested it was a rarity, not very often, very occasional, once in a blue moon, infrequent et al. Twice a fortnight would my take on these offerings after which some comedian suggests a Toughie should be doable.

    I give up on the whole enterprise.

  32. Waaaay beyond my ken. I solved three before deciding I was not having any fun so threw in the towel before I get my knickers in a twist. Well done the rest of you.

  33. As with others there were a couple I could not fully parse. The Scouse and the vicar. But I don’t worry about things like that. As long as I get confirmation that the puzzle is fully solved, I’m happy.
    Today’s offering was brilliant and was only held up by a few. Luckily 8a went in straight away so opened up the red. We stayed at a hotel in the close once. There was a wedding and the guests keep us awake all night saying good night and slamming taxi doors together with making endless trips in the lift. Our car had to be parked a little way down from the hotel and the dodgy individuals at a drug rehabilitation centre assured us they would look after it. As it happened no harm came to it.

  34. As most have said , this was fairly hard going but I managed it with a bit of help from Shabbo on a few clues. I had not heard of 13d , and as others have said wondered if 19a should have been 2 words. I did make heavy weather too of a few of the easier clues such as 19d . Think I enjoyed it 🤔 – a sense of achievement certainly to get through it with only a bit of help. Thanks to the setter and Shabbo.

  35. Just too obscure for me. Do not understand 25a, it was one of my bung ins
    I only knew sky pilot as a military padre
    Have, sadly, thrown in the towel

  36. I found this too difficult to achieve any level of enjoyment. I fully understand that the puzzles get more difficult as the week progresses, but this one is OTT? Would like to know Mr Lancaster’s justification for posting this Toughie level puzzle on a day when there is a Toughie anyway for the really smart people. So the choice is between tough and tough. Makes no sense to me. Well done all who finished this and Shabbo.

    1. The reason you can end up with two puzzles which are tough for you on any given day is that difficulty isn’t a single linear scale shared by everybody — meaning that it is literally impossible for a newspaper to schedule puzzles of specific difficulties on particular days and for everybody to perceive that identically.

      If there are two crosswords A and B, some people will only be able to solve A, some people will be able to solve both A and B — and also there will be people who can solve B but not A. People are funny like that!

      Personally the crossword I’ve found toughest this month was last week’s Tuesday backpager, which many people found straightforward (and got 1-start for difficulty on this site). I found today’s puzzle suited me better than that one did (which is of course not the same thing as claiming that it’s in way objectively easier).

      Ray T crosswords on alternating Thursdays beyond my solving skills. Many people clearly get a lot of enjoyment from them, so clearly they should be published. That they don’t happen to suit me just means that I don’t do the crossword that day; there are other days, like today, where the crossword suits me but doesn’t others. That doesn’t mean that the Telegraph were wrong to publish it, or to schedule it as a backpager.

      Also, it doesn’t follow that just because I could solve this crossword I would also be able to solve today’s Toughie. That you found them both tough doesn’t mean that they are interchangeable and offer no choice. There was still a choice today, so there is still sense in offering both. Ray T’s and Elgar’s crosswords are both beyond me, but I wouldn’t claim that they are anything like each other or that somebody who wanted one of them would be happy with the other.

      We all like different things. We just have to take turns!

      1. Absolutely my sentiments. It would be presumptuous of me to assume that every day I am able to understand and finish the back pager. It’s a flipping crossword! Some are hard, some are easy, take a look at the real news and get the world in perspective.

        1. Daisy, we are asked to leave our opinions and thoughts, and that is what I have done. I read newspapers every day from both sides of the Atlantic, and we watch two different TV news programs every evening, so I do believe we do have the world in perspective. The tragic state of current world affairs does not mean that I have to love every crossword.

          1. I apologise if I sounded judgemental BL – I didn’t mean to be rude. Of course we can all express ourselves but some folk do seem to take a tricky puzzle as a personal assault. I think it must be hard for the Guzzle Editor to judge the hardth
            (I like that, just made it up) of each crossword – one assumes he is an experienced guzzler, I wonder does he actually do each one himself ?

            1. Ha, I like “hardth”, Daisygirl — I’m going to start using it as well!

              I think Chris Lancaster has said that he personally solves each of the backpagers, but not necessarily all the other puzzles. But that was before Daniel Peake started as his assistant, so maybe it’s different now.

      2. There must be a point on the continuum where the Editor feels that a crossword can be regarded as tough. Otherwise he can’t claim to set a crossword called ‘the Toughie’. When Falcon and Huntsman find a crossword difficult, I’d say that the crossword probably is at the tough end of the spectrum.

      3. I’m not stupid and I know that difficulty is subjective. But it can be assessed, hence the **** difficulty rating, and has absolutely nothing to do with “taking turns”. I seriously doubt this was a Ray T, and I do sometimes enjoy his. We are asked to “Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle”. That is what I have done. You are welcome to your opinion and I am welcome to mine.

        1. BusyLizzie, your news diet sounds impressively balanced! Sorry if my comment made it sound like I thought you shouldn’t leave your opinions — of course you should. Please keep commenting. And I’m pretty sure nobody here loves every puzzle.

          I was responding to your question about the justification for publishing today’s puzzle, something you said made no sense to you, the implication being that you thought it shouldn’t have been published (or at least, not as a backpager), trying — presumably badly — to explain why it did make sense to publish it.

          Some days the puzzle will suit me, some days you, some days both of us, and perhaps some days neither. That’s all I meant about taking turns.

  37. Really struggled with this one. Couldn’t parse 4d and hadn’t heard of the sky pilot slang.
    I print the puzzle in the morning from the old puzzles site and it had different wording in the clue for both 19a (sketch not work of art) and 24a as already mentioned.
    Hadn’t heard of 19a so the different wording didn’t make too much difference to my ability to parse it!
    Favourite was 1d.
    Thanks to Shabbo and to the setter.

  38. I discovered the names of numerous plateaus today … but alas not 12a, thank you compiler and Shabbo

  39. This was tough for me too; but enjoyable. I needed a little electronic help to finish and Shabbo’s explanations for some of the parsing. I had no idea why 4 down was what it was and was searching for Ringo somewhere. Loved the very clever 1d. Never heard of the gun in 23 despite living in the US. ****/*** for me. Thanks to Shabbo and the setter for a true brainstretch. Off now to play nine holes. I deserve it after that.

  40. I lost interest as soon as I saw American slang. Come on DT this is the UK not some suburb of Chicago.
    Dreadful
    *****/*

  41. Very much a 24a guzzle for me! ( And it was last in!)
    Apart from seeing that 8a was going to be the usual bishop’s seat (other than Ely!) didn’t see any other acrosses until got put off by the error in the letter count of 25a. Luckily got 5d almost immediately (Have heard of sky pilot) then next to it the oldie and goodie 6d. Incidentally confirming my guess for the seat. Took me forever to figure out that it was an anagram!
    Needed all the checkers to guess at 25a, and for Shabbo to point me to the Liverpudlian, whom I don’t suppose I’ve seen this century!
    5d it is for fave.
    Many thanks to the setter for the workout and to Shabbo for help with some parsings.

  42. Can’t be too technical with this comment as my husband and I are both newbies. but this one was the most difficult we have ever come across in the four months we have been doing these and without your hints, about six from completion, we would not have completed. And I will admit, we even had to click for two answers. Bargeboard?!

    1. I’ve been doing the Telegraph cryptic crossword for 48 years and this one took a bit of thinking over – you’ll be surprised how much a bit of experience makes.

  43. A real toughie. took far longer than our average time. hatch resort to hints for the first time in a long time. got there in the end …. but a slog

  44. Lots of this puzzle I thought was brilliant.1d 7d and 19d got biggest ticks from me. However like others I found the further I got the tougher the clues. Finally gave in with 5d and 19a defeating me. We’ll done Shabbo for parsing it all and thanks to the compiler for the challenge. You won!

  45. What a day! I collected Mrs. C. and the drive back along the A49 – a road I loathe – was marked by torrential rain and lorry spray. When we got back Mrs. C. was exhausted with me not far behind. The care team told us they would be with at 4pm but they arrived a 6pm. The carer, whom I have to admit, was very nice said she would be back in an hour to get Mrs C ready for bed. She came back an hour and three quarters later by which time Mrs. C was exhausted. The carer just took her up to bed, washed her and let her sleep. They are coming back between 7 and 8 tomorrow morning. Not a problem for me but Mrs. C. does NOT do mornings! 😁

    She has asked me to thank you all for the good wishes you sent her. I echo that.

    Oh yes, the guzzle! I solved it over lunch at The Pound Inn in Leebotwood. A bit of a stinker but fairly clued. Was led in to a false sense of security when I solved 8a immediately. I was all downhill from thereon. I have two contenders for COTD – 1d and 4d – and after reflection the Stevie Tick goes to 1d.

    Many thanks to the setter for the challenge.Thank you, Shabbo for the hints and I needed the one for 25a. I would never have solved it in a month of Sundays but it was very clever.

    1. I’m glad Mrs. C is home, that will do wonders for her getting better. I’m with her 100% about the 7.00am morning call, I’m so NOT a morning person. I hope they’re closer to 8:00am and she gets to sleep in a bit later. Lots of love to her.

    2. Steve, I am so happy for you and Mrs C, that she is now home with you. I hope the carers work out. I’m with Mrs C in not doing mornings. Between 7 and 8am, good grief! Hopefully everything will be fine once a routine gets sorted.

  46. I was realistically staring my second dnf of the day in the face, but I managed to get a toe hold and progressed, albeit slowly, to completion. I didn’t like 24a, it was definitely a 24a. I’d like to say I needed the hint to parse 25a but I still don’t understand it, I must be missing something. I did need the hint to parse 4d. Favourite was 1d. Thanks to the setter and Shabbo.

    1. 25a made me think long and hard!

      Amazon lockers are where you can collect things from! And what are rare things?

      1. Thank you I didn’t realise such things existed. Was thinking of the river and trying to find a synonym of locker. Shows what I know.

  47. After two poor attempts at solving so far this week, I could have done without a toughie today. Having said that, I did better today than the other fails with 5 clues needing the answers.

    13d is presumably known to roofing specialists only.

    Not sure who the scouser in 4d is if it isn’t the Beatle. Hardly famous then?

    Thanks to all other than the editor who chose to put a toughie in today. Not that this individual will read this nor care even if they did…

    1. The Scouser – very famous comedian, first name Jimmy, same age as Ringo & John, went to same primary school as John; daughter is a long-term Radio 2 presenter, arguably just as famous, albeit to a different generation & audience.

      1. I’m sure I will recognise the name if I hear it, but I suspect I am unaware that they are from Liverpool.

          1. Thanks for putting me out of my misery. Mr Jimmy is definitely famous, I just didn’t realise he was a scouser. I watched some videos of him and to my ears he doesn’t sound scouse. Northern certainly, but not scouse to my southern shandy drinking ears.

  48. Really difficult and not much fun when I only managed to solve 15 clues. Never mind – there’s always tomorrow.

  49. Good evening

    Late on parade! I had to go out this evening, and I left the house with 9a, 19a, and 1d left to fill in. I came home at 9:45 and they’re still not filled in. My tried and tested method of leaving unsolved clues to the subconscious hasn’t worked, and so I must hoy the sponge in and declare a DNF.

    Yes, I found this crozzie tough! No, I’m not complaining. It doesn’t hurt to tax the braincells. I simply didn’t know the word at 19a; and couldn’t get TESTING out of my head at 1d. Shabbo’s explanation of 4d is most welcome, because mine – how does Ringo STARR losing a dollar equate to STARR losing an R? – was nonsense!

    Many thanks to our compiler for the challenge, and of course to Shabbo.

  50. I don’t like to criticise a puzzle that I found too hard but this one was just ridiculous. 21a doesn’t appear to have a definition other than the very vague “here” and I don’t believe 24a is even a word. Congratulations to Shabbo for being able to blog it.

    1. 24a is definitely a word, After 10pm: I’ve seen it used lots on this very site by people commenting on puzzles!

  51. It took a bit of electrical help but I managed to avoid the hints. Even the mysterious 24a gave in – just as I was about to give in. Not a bad puzzle **/****. Thanks to all.

  52. Poor show Telegraph. Extremely difficult puzzle made impossible by typesetting errors.
    Thanks for the much needed hints.

  53. I’m one of the tiny majority that thoroughly enjoyed this tricky puzzle!
    19a is top of my list of ticks followed by 10a, 25a, 1d, 7d and 13d inter alia. I also rather liked 8a. (It invoked happy memories of researching old records in the archives there.)
    This was a tough puzzle. Fortunately I picked up the right wavelength and completed the grid without any assistance. That said, I made a silly error parsing 24a, and am most appreciative to Shabbo for putting me right; and also for explaining the ‘dollar’ in 4d.
    Many appreciative thanks to the setter for the entertainment and mental yoga. A very big ‘thank you’ to Shabbo for his excellent illustrated review.

  54. Well, I enjoyed it – a real challenge which I could not have managed a few months ago! Started late last night and had to come back to it today as determined not to be beaten. It took 2 heads for the last few clues and we were not entirely accurate but pleased to have done pretty well. Many thanks for the challenge and for the hints.

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